textproduct: Quad Cities

KEY MESSAGES

- Windy day today, with sustained winds of 20-30 mph and gusts upwards to 40 mph. Higher gusts will be possible in our northwest.

- We will see a few rounds of showers and storms this evening through Friday AM, with plenty of dry time in between. Amounts will be around an inch or less for most, with higher amounts in our south.

- After quieter and dry weather much of Friday into Saturday, chances for showers and storms increase Saturday night and beyond.

SHORT TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/

Issued at 223 AM CDT Wed Apr 8 2026

Today will be quite a breezy day, as a surface low tracks through the northern CONUS, dragging a cold front through the area. Ahead of the cold front, we will see quite the southerly flow, with sustained winds between 20-30 mph and gusts upwards to 40-45 mph. This will be especially true for our northwestern counties. Model soundings and CAMs suggest that winds should be below headline criteria, but will be close. Thus, confidence was not quite there to issue any headlines at this time, but will be something to monitor through the morning. With such southerly flow setting up over the area, much of the area will see temperatures soar into the low 70s, with those in our far north remaining in the upper 60s. Fortunately, minimum humidity values will remain in the 35-45% range. Thus, we are not expecting much of a fire weather threat today, especially after recent precipitation events keeping soils relatively moist. Otherwise, we will have a mix of clouds and sun as mid-high clouds pass overhead.

This evening, we will see the pressure gradient start to lighten, allowing winds to decrease significantly. Gusts upwards to 25 mph will still be possible through the evening, but will be less widespread. Surface front will move into the area overnight from northwest to southeast, which will bring through a brief round of rainfall. This front will slow down/stall as it reaches our southeastern half of the area, serving as a focal point for further precipitation over the next 24-36 hours. Instability will be low, resulting in the possibility for a few embedded thunderstorms. No severe weather is expected with this. Accumulations will also be lower, with areas north of Interstate 80 seeing 0.25" or less and those south of the interstate seeing 0.10" or less.

LONG TERM /THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/

Issued at 223 AM CDT Wed Apr 8 2026

The aforementioned front will have since stalled out over the area, with guidance generally keeping it between Interstate 80 and Highway 34 in Iowa. Thus, this has trended south since the last forecast package. This is important because this boundary will act as a focal point for rounds of showers/storms Thursday PM, as a weak shortwave tracks towards the area from the west. This wave and the LLJ setting up Thursday evening and night will provide the necessary moisture and forcing for persistent showers and storms Thursday evening into Friday morning. More widespread rainfall is expected overnight throughout the area, with the persistent rounds of rainfall focused in our south along the boundary, where we will see the rainfall chances persist into Friday morning. We will see a nice soaking rainfall with this, where the recent dry days should allow for easy infiltration of the rainfall. Areas along and north of Interstate 80 will generally see between 0.50-0.75" of rain through the night, with those south of the interstate seeing upwards to 1.00" of rainfall. Localized amounts upwards to 1.25" will be possible.

Much of the area will remain dry on Friday after this rain moves out, with the rain moving out of our south by the afternoon hours. With this, high pressure will start to work towards the area, resulting in decreasing cloud cover from north-south and light winds. Temperatures will also be near 60, resulting in a pleasant day to close out the work week.

High pressure and associated ridge push east Saturday into Sunday, with upper level flow becoming more southwesterly. This would favor strong WAA into the region, especially on Sunday. Saturday will serve as the transitional day, which should keep us largely dry with temperatures in the 60s. Going into Sunday, we see a more potent wave eject off of the southern Rockies and track northeast into the Central Plains. LLJ will set up Saturday night ahead of this wave, which may result in overnight showers/storms, especially with a weak leading shortwave passing through. Surface low will then follow a similar track as the main wave, with leading shortwaves bringing chances for precipitation Sunday into Monday. Without a baroclinic zone stalled over the area, we are not expecting a focused area of heavy precipitation at this time. Rather, scattered showers and storms will result, especially with increasing instability. Monday into Tuesday, we will see the associated cold front pass through, largely in the evening and overnight hours. With decent forcing and instability in place ahead of the front, some stronger storms cannot be ruled out. This was highlighted by the SPC yesterday, where they had a Day 7 15% chance for severe weather in our south, equating to a level 2 of 5 risk for severe weather. Although, there is plenty of time for this forecast to change. Thus, just keep in mind that chance for stronger storms is out there, but will have to continue to monitor forecast trends.

AVIATION /12Z TAFS THROUGH 12Z THURSDAY/

Issued at 612 AM CDT Wed Apr 8 2026

VFR conditions will prevail through the TAF period, with main aviation concerns revolving around a cold front approaching the area and generating gusty gradient winds. We will start with southeasterly winds at 12z, with gusts upwards to 25 KTs. LLWS will be seen seen though 15Z, generally out of the south around 45 KTs. These winds will mix down and veer in the 15-18z period, where we will see winds increase more and shift south to southwesterly for the remainder of the TAF period. Sustained winds will be around 20 KTs, with gusts upwards to 35 KTs or higher, especially in the afternoon. By 02-05Z, the approaching cold front will bring a wind shift to from the west, at lighter levels, as well as mainly VFR scattered showers during the mid to late evening hours.

DVN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

IA...None. IL...None. MO...None.